Summer, our fickle friend – are you going to cooperate with us now? No more depriving us of our fun in the sun, our picnics, our tans, our leisurely strolls through parks and convivial afternoons spent barbequing? Because if not, look at all the other lovely things we have to keep us busy. Like books. Books don’t require that every time we go out, we bring both hot- and cold-weather clothing, both umbrella and......

Last night London's Luvvieland came together for their annual award ceremony, the Oliviers. Having received 11 nominations across 10 categories, it looked like being Hairspray's night. And Londonist is happy to confirm what we already knew: the show is a deserved winner of the Best New Musical accolade. In addition, Leanne Jones (Best Actress in a Musical) rocks as the optimistic teen, Tracy Turnblad; Tracie Bennett (Best Supporting Role in a Musical) is similarly......

Our weekly roundup of film reviews continues, courtesy of James Bryan… This week Kidman plays with her monkey in The Golden Compass, The Rock gets confused in Southland Tales, a famous person gets shot in The Killing of John Lennon and Donal MacIntyre cuddles up to some naughty people in A Very British Gangster. Ever since The Golden Compass was announced, devotees of Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy have been nervously waiting to......

Bitterness aside (yes, we too were not on the pulse fast enough to bag tickets before their price sky-rocketed), we are rather enjoying the bitch fight that is ‘should Ewan McGregor have been cast as Iago in the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Othello?’ Bloomberg, while slightly disappointed by McGregor’s under-emphasis of evil intent, are definitely the most complimentary of his performance: Fortunately, Ewan McGregor gives a very creditable performance -- codpiece and all ... The......

We've spent more time than is good for us in the Trocadero Centre. It hosts the Raindance Film Festival, has a cheap as chips cinema and is still the best place to impress members of the opposite sex with your mole bashing skills. Best of all it's an actual tourist trap in that once you get stuck inside one of the arcades you may as well give up on any hope of ever seeing......

Londonist has commented on the 'The Avenue Of The Stars' in Covent Garden before. But, just in case you'd forgotten, let us remind you of our position: this is a complete waste of time. Firstly, ITV is behind it and this makes it inherently rubbish. Secondly, it has no real worth and no discernible benefit for the city. So it is with a heavy heart that we report that the 'Avenue' is due to......

Today sees a new portrait of Dame Judy Dench unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery. The artist Alessandro Raho usually drapes his subjects in theatrical clothes but with Dame Judy he has opted for a simple white jacket against a stark white background. Inspiration came, unusually enough, while he was spying on the actress: "I attempted to trap something I saw in her while she waited in the main hall of the National Portrait......